Tuesday, February 12, 2008

A Very Happy Hula Hut Day to You!

Above is a three-block version of my Happy Hula Hut quilt pattern. It's one of the patterns in my Hawaiian-themed pattern line.

These are all the patterns I make. I print, fold, stuff and tie the little bows myself. When I made my very first pattern, I thought the bows would be a good idea. They looked so pretty and I could put a different color on each pattern! My local fabric shop owner loved the bows and made me PROMISE, that if she ordered some, that the packaging would always be the same. I remember nodding my head vigorously yes as she politely ordered six patterns from me. I was on cloud nine--I had sold my first pattern! Six of them! And she loved the packaging.

Five years, eight pattern designs, and fifty thousand bows later, I'm not so sure the bows were a great idea. As a matter of fact, I've come to despise these freakin' little bows. When I have a pattern order of fifteen dozen patterns for three days in a row, you can't imagine how sore my fingers get tying those grrrrrrr little bows. My husband made me this little punchy ribbon device to poke them all uniformly, but I still have to tie the *%$#*@ things.

Once, I got too overwhelmed and decided to leave the bows off to see if anyone would notice. They did. "Ooohhh...what happened to the cute little boowwwwwssss?" they said. "That's how we know what we have in the drawer at a glance," they said. "They just aren't as 'jaunty' without the bows," they said.

Sigh. The moral of this story is to be careful with bows. They may look all innocent, but in a few years, they'll cause your fingers to gnarl and cramp up until you have to stumble downstairs for the aspirin in the middle of the night. My fingertips are so sore during my peak pattern season in May and April that I can barely stand to touch anything. So remember my cautionary tale, my children: Bows. Beware of bows.

Here I am delivering a large pattern order to Kapaia Stitchery. Oh! Look! I just happened to be wearing my new knitted mitts. In eighty degree weather. I'm holding my hands so funny because my fingertips are throbbing with pain...not because I want to show off my cute mitts. Ahem.

Note: after this picture was taken, I couldn't get those things off fast enough. My hands were sweating buckets. I stopped by the post office on the way into town and sent them to my son in Pullman, Washington. I hope the sweat dries before he gets them. I also hope he's not reading this post about the sweat part. Shhhhh...our secret.

I arrived at Kapaia Stitchery sans sweaty hands and handed my patterns over to Peaches at the shop. She's standing under my Keiki Hula pattern and she's hard to find in all that fabric, isn't she? It's like "Where's Waldo" in the Hawaiian fabric shop. Luckily, I found her and headed home.

When I got back from delivering the patterns, guess what was in my mailbox?!!! My beautiful strawberry needlecase! And it's just as pretty as its picture. Thank you, Happy Zombie. You are so talented. And you took the time to sew on 25 french knots just for me! That's a real friend. Thank you. I love it. It's already a treasured object.

Inspired by Monica's generosity, I have a little give-a-way of my own. Leave a comment at the bottom of this post (only one comment per person, please) and next week on Tuesday at midnight, I will pick a name via random number generator. I will send the winner one of my Happy Hula Hut patterns (tied with a cute little *&^% bow), and four fat halves of Hawaiian fabric to start your own Happy Hula Hut quilt.

And thank you all SO much for yesterday's comments. I want to give you all a big virtual hug and let you know that your support and kindness mean the world to me. Mahalo Nui Loa.

47 comments:

coming back in nearly no time......playing with my wanderlust, which is emerging again if I see these beautiful scenes your son has on his photostream. To your patterns:Congrats to your work. The baby turtles- and the big ones too- are so cute and I simply love your hula girls.Actually Monica's needlecase has found a new home where it will be loved and cherished. every french knot.

Your post just made me laugh, I'm sorry but I can see you cursing those little bows and I can see why after reading your post. They do set them off though. They all look gorgeous.Love those hawaiian fabrics too.

oh, I was going to comment anyway, and now I see that there is a giveaway... before I noticed the giveaway I was thinking to myself...

"hmmmm, I wonder if her patterns are available in Japan...."

anyhoo... the question to my comment is.... you sent those gloves all the way to the palouse... which I noticed on CNN got enough snow to cancel classes at WSU... is your son (and I hope that my question doesn't offend because I do not know your age) if he is university age.. (and I apologize if I am way off base here) but... is he a student at WSU??? and the reason I ask is...

Your hula huts are so sweet! Considering your mittens: we have a saying in Finland that "if something keeps cold away, it keeps heat too", but it isn´t so really! The strawberry needlecase is charming.I love those fabrics! I wish to be there to buy them...

You made me laugh reading about the bows, I haven't even had my coffee yet. Wow. All your patterns are beautiful, the patterns themselves and the packaging. I'm also really glad to read that your mitts found a new home where they will be used.

I do have to say, those are beautifully and aesthetically packaged patterns. But, yes, pain in the tush, I imagine!

The funny thing is, I could totally see myself doing something like that--thinking, "Oh, this would be a nice touch"--and never really considering all of the extra work it was creating. Actually, my friends try to stop me from that kind of stuff all the time. Doesn't work, but they try.

Oh for clams sake - I can just hear you 'whispering sweetly' to those bows! Too funny! And is that sweat we see running down your arms from your very fetching mitts? I know by now to finishing gulping my coffee before reading - you're causing snorted coffee all over the place! LOL!

Those bows look really cute on your packaging, but it sounds sorta painful. I wonder if maybe you could find something cute that could just be glued on the package. You need those fingers to finish quilting that quilt you showed the other day!

I have your Baby Honu pattern and just love it...someday, soon, I plan on getting down to making it! Your packaging is pretty but I can understand how making those tiny bows can cramp your hand...makes it hard to knit anything after that, huh? Seeing the picture of you in a sleeveless top makes me jealous - we might get up to 24 degrees today!

My fingers hurt just reading that!!!You are so cute and I am thrilled that I found your blog! I am a beginner quilter and I have your two books on my Amazon "to order" list! They sound right up my alley!Love the pattern and the fabric!How did you end up in Hawaii and how long have you lived there? I need to know these things because I need to end up there too!!!!! : )

I love the mittens in Hawai'i! When we lived in Mililani Town, the Walmart by our house was selling snow shovels in their garden department. I'm still amused by that.

I enjoy reading your blog so much Lisa. I hang on to every word and smile. You have such a gift!

Cracking myself up - I actually sat here and counted the french knots after you pointed that out (see, I really am so easily amused). Had I known you were going to win... I would have made 50 for the 50th state! And BTW... you have me blushing all over again!!!

I love the Happy Hula Huts - and what a generous give-a-way. I'm praying to the random gods right now. :o)

I love the fact that you are wearing the gloves out in public, to the quilt shop, in 80 degree weather! How fun is that! And all the bow's. I can only imagine. Boy, what we sometimes promise seems to bite us in the butt right!The stawberry case is so sweet! A handmade gift is always the best!!!!

yeah...we like the boys until we take them off to check out pattern and they are a bummer to put back on but it just doesnt look right without that cute little bow. i pulled out my box of "butterfly" blocks...only the one complete, but 7 butterfly bodies ready to applique onto blocks...only problem the background blocks got messed up...ya know the problem with pests in the tropics...i freaked...limped on down to the basement and after searching 3 of my way too many 54 qt boxes found maybe three yards of the stuff, so...tomarrow i am going to cute out new background blocks and try and remember how we did those antenea...something about stich, twist floss, stich, twish floss...do i have that right

Wow! I would love the Hawaiian huts!!! Do they come with Hawaiian sunshine and temperatures? I could use them in northeastern US. Love houses on quilts. I have been making wonky houses of late (www.upstatelisa.blogspot.com)Just discovered your blog recently and love it!!!

cHi Lisa. I just found your blog a few days ago. I just love reading it--it is so cheery and colorful--and I love seeing pictures of my beloved birth island! Was born in Waimea, grew up in Honolulu, now live in southern CA. I love the pics of Kapaia Stitchery, because I have been there, recognize some of the people and remember all of the beautiful quilts hanging from the ceiling. Your story about the bows cracked me up! Looking forward to keeping up with you via your blog.Pauline lvtoqlt@roadrunner.com

Hula Huts !!!! VERY CUTE !!!! sign me up!!! ..... and I must say the teeny, tiny bows definately set off your pattern packages !!!(although I can see where you would want to FLUSH them down the john after awhile .... that is if your poor fingers can still flush !!)

Love your neighbor the pig, your kitty and all the red in the last quilt you displayed. I live in Vermont where everything is old funky and worn and the new and shiny is looked on with suspicion.You would feel right at home.

I literally *just* bought one of your patterns and thought to myself "those bows are adorable but they must be a pain to tie!" I worked for a jewelry designer in college who had little bows like that on her packages. Guess who got to actually tie them? Oh yeah... but we never had something as neat as the gizmo your husband made. I'm jealous!

Your patterns are SO sweet. I love reading your blog, you are such a scream! I am definitely going to take your advise about free motion designing. I need my own repertoire. Trying to do someone else's has proven difficult for me. They get all wonky looking.....Stacey from Minnesota

Guess I am too late for the drawing, bummer! But I would like to say that I am glad you got to visit Texas and Round Rock which is really very close to San Antonio. In fact, I may have even visited that particular shop on a Shop Hop last year! How cool is that? I've been to the same shop as Lisa Boyer! Those bright Hawaiian colors are really fun and so are your patterns. Maybe you could train some island critters to make the bows for you. Are there any monkeys around? Hehe. Great blog!

Hi, Lisa! I loved both your books, and sometimes wonder what quilting project is pining away in your sewing room while you are knitting gloves and crocheting doilies. I remember the chapter "Doily Days" in "Stash Envy". In theory I agree with you about "use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without" but I do love having an excellent stash on hand for when inspiration strikes. For the record, I have made four baby quilts out of cut off shirt sleeves, (I worked for a uniform company, and would sometimes have to transform perfectly good long sleeved shirts to short sleeved. I saved the sleeves for quilts) and my wedding dress was made from curtains 27 plus years ago.I'm not quite so jealous of your gorgeous sewing room now that I know large wiggly creatures with dozens of legs like to visit. AAK!Thank goodness for knights in shining armor!

I see I have about a one in forty chance to win this fabulous prize..so at the risk of being disqualified for being Jan in Nagasaki.....a foreign address... I would like to point out that I will be able to provide multiple U.S. addresses (my mother, my sister, my cousin....they are all quilters) and they would be happy to hold any and all prizes until I can go and pick them up, and they will probably only cut little snippets of scraps from the material....

I was in Hawaii for the BIG Storm on Oauhu's north shore. 80 foot waves! I was lucky to go to Kauai and YES I visited the Kaapapa Stitchery store (many times, Jean is a friend to me now!) and bought some of your patterns. I wish I had been able to call you and visit with you. Your quilts are so fun and challenging!I bought the Hunu quilt kit, some patterns of yours and a hawaiian breadfruit quilt kit. I worked on it sitting by the ocean! When I got to the airport, I was working on it. Somehow it got lost. I didn't have my name or anything with it. Jean said if it didn't get turned in, they would replace it. Someone turned it in and it was shipped to me to COLD! COLD! Utah. (We got home to below 0 degree weather and tones of snow! I just finished my first pair of knitted socks!) My comment is to attach your name, address and phone Number to your project in case you haven't lost it in warm, wonderful Hawaii!